System of transferring freight



Dec. 8, 1931. H; H. FRENCH SYSTEM 0F TRANSFERRING FREIGHT Filed Aug. 3l,1928 4 Sheets-Sheet l 0%@ J( gms@ @51, M@ Mz/@QM Dec. 8, 1931. H. H.FRENCH 1,835,859

SYSTEM 0F TRANSFERRING FREIGHT Filed Aug. 3l, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 2Tim/5 B 11T-BL 31a/vanto@ Ww JK 1 attac/wmf Dec. 8, 1931. H. H. FRENCHSYSTEM OF TRANSFERRING FREIGHT Filed Aug. 31, 1928 7 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Wfm, www M W ///N dumm@ Dec. 8, 1931. H. H. FRENCH 1,835,859

SYSTEM OF TRANSFERRING FREIGHT Filed'Aug. 3l, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 4gmc/nto@ f O A iF-J G gri/4% In the drawings, Fig. 1 is an elevationtransversely of an electric railway track, of the two superstructureconstruction, showing the relationship where the crane is idle and thepassageway open for the travel of the trolley car; Fig.Y 2 is a. similarview showing the trolley car standing and the crane in an activeposition above it; Fig. 3 is a plan of the installation shown in Figs. 1andr2; Fig. 4 is a detail in plan illustrating the Aswinging bridgewhich may span the railway car space and continue the crane trackwayfromone.

side structure to the other, this view being in the nature of ahorizontalsection onthe line 4-4 on Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is an enlargedvertical cross'section adjacent one end ofthe bridge structure when inits active position, showing the support'for the free end of the bridgetaken on line`5-5 of Fig.'4; Fig. 6 is a vertical cross sectiony atyright angles to Fig. 5 as indicated by the line 6 6 on Fig. 5; Fig. 7 isa vertical cross section adjacent the hinged end of the bridge beam asindicated by the line 7 7 on Fig. 4'; Fig. ySis a diagram illustratingthe signal circuits .automatically controlled by4 the bridge beams;

Fig. 9 is an end'elevationof asimple installation located atone sideonly of the trackway; Fig. 10 is a vertical section thereof on a planeindicated by the'line 10-10 on Fig. 9 showing the hoistin position toraisea removable body from the electric flat car; Fig. 11` isA anenlarged view in plan ofthe gearing shown in Fig.v 4 for swinging thebridge.

- As shown inFigs. y1, 2, 3, 9 and 10, A represents an electricrailway'track, B the suspended vtrolley wire therefor, and- C anelectric fiat car adapted to' travel on such rails by electric power;This flat car may have a cab c' as shown in Figs.`3 and 10, anda'trolley pole 0'; iD- indicates .the removable body, which is shownaslinountedon the flat car in the reark ofthe cab.' This body'ispreferably of'such size" that it may also readily `fit anautomobiletruck, -so that the body maybe interchanged as desired betweenthe truck and flat car. Itis provided withsuitable doors d', .and-sidehooks or other means for attachment of raising cables. 1 f

Ii willirstfdescribe the construction illustrated in Figs.v 1 to 7 wherethe superstructure is mounted in duplicate at opposite sides ofa'trackway. Thus Figs. 1,'2 and 3, show two opposed structurescarryingat an elevation somewhat -less than that ofthe trolley wire, pairs of'aligned craneV trackway's 12 and 13, and one of these structureslcarries'a n pair of swinging bridges 2O supporting crane trackrails 24which .may thus be caused to allgn with the rails 12 and 13 and'connectthem. 30 indicates a suitable traveling crane .which may be operated onthe crane track- ,way thus provided from one structure to the .other andthus placed over the trolley car and beneath the trolley wire.

More specifically, the crane structures shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3comprise four upright corner posts 14 shown as connected by transversemembers 15 and 16 and suitable diagonal braces 17 and 18. Likewise thereare horizontal beams-19 carried by they corner posts and suitably bracedto support the rails 12 or 13.

A The bridge which serves to connect the crane ,'trackway 12 with thetrackway 13 whenever desired, preferably comprises two beams20 hingedonvertical pivots 21 (Fig. 7) adjacent the front and rear inner cornerposts -1-4 of one of the side structures, as illustrated in Fig. 3.Suitable diagonal struts 23 and vertical hinges at the lower endsthereof. brace these cantilevered beams.A Each'beam carries ai rail 24adapted to 'alignwith the stationary rails 12 and 13 ofthesuperstructures.

Normally' these bridge beams Ystand substantially parallel with thetrackway A anddo not interfere 'withthe' operation of the trolley car.However, whenever it is desired' to move al body to or from 'a carstandingbetween-the side structures, the bridge beams are swungtransversely of the trackway'A, and in' that position their free endsrest on supports carried by the opposite side structure.

' As shown in Figs 5 and 6, an upright post 22 adjacent the corner `post14 of Athe side structure opposite the one to which the bridge beams arepivoted and which carries the horizontal beam supportingthe trackway 13,has a downwardly stepped seat 25 adapted to sup-V port the shallowerbridge beam20 with its rail 24 aligned with therails'l2 and 13. ToallowA the bridge beam to swing easily `into place, notwithstanding itssagging when supported only by its pivot, I extend the top plate 25 ofthe seat referred. to beyond the post 22 in the direction ofthe railroadtrackway and curve such extension downwardly Vas shown at 26 in Fig. 6.rAccordingly, when the bridge is beingswung-crosswise, its free end vwillstrike somewhere on the downwardly extending face26 which will cam theend up so that it may readily come into its final position as show-n inFig.

It is desirable to provide latches to lock the bridge beams in theiractive position. Such a lock is indicated at 50 in Figs. 5 and 6, andcomprises a vertical bolt extending downwardly through the bridge beam20 and carried by a lever 52 pivoted to the beam 20 EOC nishes means forpulling the latch upwardly manually to release the bridge beam when everdesired. The cord or rod may extend along the bridge beam to a. pointnear its pivot and by means of a pulley or bell crank, continueddownward-to a point whereit may easily be grasped by theoperatorof theswinging mechanism as hereinafter described'.v

Any suitable mechanism may be provided ,0; to swing the bridge beams.Thus .I may for example, mount on the bridge beam concentric of thepivotV of each of them a segment (Fig. 4) which may be engaged by thepinion 61 or a train of gearingleadingfroma suit- 1'5` able operatingcrank, not shown. I have shown the pinion mounted on a shaft radial ofthe rack 60, which shaft carries a worm wheel with which meshes a worm62 on a ver-v tical shaft to which the crank-may be attached. 26 Y Thetraveling crane forthe superstructure described may be of any desiredtype but it is preferable' that it should be quite low so that it mayreadily ride in the space above thev top of the trolley cark and belowthe trolley. To this end I prefer to employ lthe,

Connected with the nut are four cables 40 which lead parallel with thescrew' toits far end, then pass laterally about sheaves 37 and thenforwardly about shea-vesv 38; Two of these cables (one on each side)then pass downwardly over sheaves 39 adjacent the sheaves 38 whiletheother two cables, asindicated at 42, pass horizontally to a point nearthe other end of the frame thence downward- 35 ly over sheaves 41.

The hoist described provides four depending load cables all operated bythe same motor. Suitable load hooks or other attaching devices on theends of the four cables are adapted to engage the body to raise or lowerit as desired. Another motor 45 on the crane (or gearing and a clutchconnectedrwith the motor 34) are adapted to rotate some of the wheels 31to progress the crane as desired.

The motors are preferably grounded to the hoist structure. They aresupplied by an intake conductor which after leadingthrough a controlswitch is wound up on a spring .M rgel 48, Fig. 3.' From this reelV anelectric cable leads to a suitable intake connection 71 carried by thesuperstructure adjacent its top, this intake connection beingpermanently connected with the main feed wire or with the trolley wireitself .as indicated at rotating by longitudinal bars 36 of the frame.

72. Thus the current for operating the hoist is derived from the trolleycircuit.

I will now describe the simpler installationy illustrated in Figs. 9 and10. In this case I provide a single superstructure located at one sideof the trackway A andof suiiicient size so that an automobile truck car-Y rying a movable body may be driven through inwardly facing channelbeams 82. These` channel beams are'suitably supported'by diagonal strutsas 83, 84 and 85 and by suitable cross bracing above them indicated at86.

The hoisty forthe structure just described may have longitudinal sidebeams each carrying a number of rollers 91 tracking in the channels ofthe beams 82. The frame may be trussed on its upper side as indicated bythe truss 93, 94, Fig. 9. The elevating mechanism of this hoist may beidentical yviththat heretofore described with reference t0, Fig. 3.

In the installation being described the hoist frame may if desired beprojected at the side ofthe superstructure as indicated in broken linesinI Fig. 9 beneath the trolley wire B and above the Abody D on the flatcar, and in this'position the depending cables `4() are in position toengage the body D on the flat'car. .The hoist mechanism may then raisethis body free from the car and the hoist frame with its load may betrolleyed within the superstructure 80 and deposited on a suitable. sup-1 port, kas for instance, the automobile truck E.

rIt is to be understood that in the construction vjust described, thehoist trackway is of sufficient length and the hoist frame issulficiently rigid to effectively support the hoist with its loadwhether the frame be over the superstructure or partially projecting tooverhang the railroad track. The travel of the hoist may beeifected byan electric motor as already described with reference to Fig. 3. In theoperation of my apparatus, let us suppose that a trolley car arrives atthe station bringing a loaded body D, such car stopping at the side ofthe single structure of Figs. 9 and 10, or between the two structures ofFigs. 1, 2 and 3, and that the trolley pole has been pulled down outofthe way. In the two structure arrangement the bridges 2O are thenswung transversely to form a continu-y ous hoist trackwalylover therailroad track. Now, in each construction the traversing motor of thehoist is energized and the hoist frame-brought over the Vtrolley car.

Now the raising cables are lowered by the operation of their motor andattached to the body D, and then later raised clear of the railway car.This body D is now transported laterally, by operation of the trolleyingmotor of the hoist, and may be deposited on an automobile truck asindicated at E in Figs. 2 or 9, or deposited on some suitable support,

as 'shown at F, F1, F2 or F8 inFig. 1. Such supports are preferablyportable horses and may be placed wherever desired within either sidestructure.

In the case of the two structure installation if another automobileloaded or empty is ready l'for the flat car, as for instance the body D1standing on the support F1 in Figs. 1 and 2, the crane is simply driveninto position above such body and then the latter slightly raised andtransported to a position above the fiat car and depositedthereon.

The double structure has a further advantage in that it may be sooperated as to provide-tor several bodies side by side on either side ottheelectric railway. In this case, anyl automobile body which is betweenone it is desired to shift and the electric car may be transported bythe hoist to the other superstructure and deposited out of the way.rFlins in Fig. 1', the automobile body D may be deposited on the supportF and the body D1 shown standing on the support F1 supported across thetrack and stood on the support F8, then the body D2 on the support F2iay be trolleyed over and placed on the flat car.

To prevent possible accident in case the trolley car should run past thesuperstructure when a bridge member is in transverse position or thehoist projected in the path ot' the trolley pole, I provide a connectionto a signal system along the railway track as illustrated` in Fig. 8. Inthis diagram A indicates the railroad track, B the trolley wire, G1 thetrolley pole, G the motor of the `car connected with the trolley poleand I-l a ground connection therefrom. J designates a suitable signalvoperated bya magnet K or by a motor (not shown) controlled by suchmagnet. L and L1 are switches operated automatically by the swinginggates or the projecting crane oit' Fig. 9 to control the circuit to themagnet K andt-hus the signal J. As shownin this diagram. a conductor 100leads from the trolley wire or feed line through a resistance 101 to theswitch L from which a conductor 102 leads to the switch L1. From thisswitch a conductor 103 leads to the magnet K and Jfrom the latter magneta conductor 104 leads to the ground. Normally the two bridge beams 20 orthe switches L and L1 cause this circuit to be closed and the energizedmagnet K holds the signal in safety position asillustrated in Fig. 8. Iteither gate however is swung crosswise, the spring L orL1 operates thecorresponding switch to open it, thus breaking the circuit tothe magnetK and the signal goes to danger as by its own counterweight.

It is to be understood that a similar signal system may be employed withthe projecting hoist ot Fig. 9, only one switch being necessary in thatcase in place ot the two switches for the two bridge members. `lso thesignal J shown as asemaphore may if desired be a light. In'place of asingle signal, it may be part of the regularsignal system et' therailway and operate, on both distance and home signals. f c

My system is not only very simple in its apparatus, but 'it is operatedvery economically by using the trolleycurrent. It is well adapted forinstallation in locations wherev the cost of heavy swinging cranes wouldbe prohibitive. By suitably boxing lthe motors the structure may ifdesired remain exposed to the weather, orth'e crane structures may beroofed, as indicated at M in Fig. 1 to better protect the mechanismofthe crane. In any case, no regularvattendant is necessary, the trolleycar attendants simply swing the bridges and operate the trolley hoist asnecessary to remove or place a container. Such containers may bevtransferred directly between Ythe `trolley car and a waiting truck ormay be temporarily stored,allowing the trolley car to proceed, Shouldeither bridge memberl or the projecting hoist be inadvert ently movedacross the path ot the trolley pole before the trolley car arrives.notice thereof is given to the motorman ot' the trolley car by thesignal' circuit described. Ii desired, the bridges and projecting hoistmay be locked in idle position with suitable locks to which only the carattendants would have. keys.y v. l

I- claim Y l 1. The means for transferring freight to or from anelectric' carlcomprising a pair of elevate-d structure oppositeeachother on two Asides ot an electric railway track, and a pair otswinging bridge Vtrackways individually and pivotally carried by one otsuch elevated structures and adapted` to span the railway truckbeneathrthe trolley wire and be supported at the tree end by the otherstructure, and said trackways being adapter to .support a travelinghoiston the elevated structure which may .move by means of said bridge tromone structure to the other.

2. In combination, Va railway track, a trolley wire above it, elevatedstructures on opposite sides tliereohjanv overhead crane runway on suchstructures extending transversely of the track lower than the trolleywire. there being a section ot the runway consisting ot a pair otbridges individually and pivotally mounted on'one ofthe structures soas'to be movable with reference to the remaining part of the runway,means on t-he other structure 4for supporting the tree ends of saidbridges.v mechanism for swing# ing the bridges on` their pivots tovcausethis runway section to span the railway track` or clear the space abovethe track, and a trolley hoist movable transversely on said runway.

,3. 'Ihe combination et* two supporting structures spaced apart, eachcarrying a pair of parallel horizontal rails, the rails ot one structuresubstantially aligning with those of the other, two bridge membersmovably carried by one of the structures and each carrying a rail alongits top adapted to be positioned to form an operating connection betweencorresponding rails of the two structures or to be positioned tomaintain a gap between such rails and a traveling crane having fourwheels adapted to rest simultaneously on the two bridge members.

e. The combination of two supporting structures spaced apart, eachhaving a pair of rails, a pair of bridge members hinged to one of thesupporting structures and adapted to form a connection between saidrails, seats carried by the other supporting structure adapted tosupport the free ends of said bridge members, mechanism for swinging thebridge members, and a traveling crane adapted to rest simultaneously onthe two bridge members.

5. The combination of two supporting structures spaced apart, eachhaving a pair of rails, a pair of bridge members hinged to one of thesupporting structures and adapted to form a connection between saidrails, and seats carried by the other supporting structure adapted tosupport the free ends of said bridge members, each seat being formedwith an inclined guide leading thereto adapted to receive and raise thebridge member as it swings into place.

6. lhe combination with a railway track, of a superstructure alongsidethereof, trolley hoist mechanism having a movable support carried by thesuperstructure and adapted to be positioned over the railway track orclear thereof, a signal adjacent the railway track, and means wherebythe movement of said support into position over the track causes thesignal to go to danger.

7. The combination of a pair of superstructures adjacent each other butspaced apart, an intermediate support adapted to extend transversely andform a continuation of crane trackways on the two superstructures, meanswhereby the movement of saidl intermediate support toward transverseposition actuates a danger signal, and a traveling hoist mechanismadapted to operate on the crane trackway. y

8. The combination with a railway track a superstructure adjacent theside thereof, a pair of crane rails carried by the superstructure, lapair of bridge members pivotally carried by the superstructure andadapted to stand substantially parallel with the track or extendcrosswise thereof to form a continuation of the crane trackway, a signaladjacent the railway track, means whereby the moving of either bridgemember to transverse position automatically causes the signal toindicate danger, and Va traveling crane adapted to rest simultaneouslyon the two bridge members.

9. An apparatus for transferring freight to and from an electric carcomprising a railway track lhaving a trolley wire above it, an elevatedstructure alongside of the railway track, a movable member carried bythe elevated structure and adapted to project laterally above the top ofthe railway car and below the trolley wire, mechanism for moving saidmember into andl out of position beneath the trolley wire, a hoistshiftable laterally on such movable member, an automof biletruck havinga demountable body and means for transporting the body laterally by suchhoist between the car and truck.

l0. The means for transporting freight to or from an electric carcomprising elevated structures opposite each other on two sides of anelectric railway track having a trolley wire above it, and a movablebridge trackway carried by one of suchl elevated structures and adaptedto rest also on the other structure and span the railway track beneaththe trolley wire or-to be moved laterally to clear the space beneath thetrolley wire, and mechanism for so moving said bridge trackway whereby atraveling hoist kon the elevated Lstructure may travel by means ofsaidbridge from one structure to the other.

11. An apparatus of transferring freight to or from an electric carcarrying a removable body comprising elevated structures opposite eachother on two sides of an electric railway track,a movable bridgetrackway carried by such elevated structure, mechanism for movingsaidbridge to cause it to spanythe railway track beneath the trolley wire orto be moved to clear the trolley pole, an electric traveling hoist onthe elevated structure, adapted to travel by means of said bridge fromone structure to the other, means connecting the motor of such hoistwith the trolley circuit.

l2. The combination of an electric railway rtrack having a trolley wiredisposed above it, an electric car on the track carrying a removablebody, an elevated structure ad'- jacent the track having a transversecrane runway, a movable extension of the runway, mechanism for movingsaid extension to cause it to extend across the railway track beneaththe trolley wire and above said body or to be withdrawn to clear suchspace, a trolley hoist on the said crane runway adapted to ride on saidextension beneath the trolley wire, and means to connect the raisingmechanism of the hoist with said removable body, whereby the same may beraised and transported from the car on the 'trackway n Y In testimonywhereof, l hereunto aflix my signature.

c HENRY H. FRENCH.V

